Valley Headlines

Air is bad, but not the worst

GV Wire. CA dominates bad air rankings, but numbers bear good news for Fresno.
Synopsis: Of the 30 most air-polluted counties in the US, 20 are in CA says Healthnews. “Plowing, harvesting and other farming operations generate large amounts of dust,” says the report, making Kern, Tulare and Fresno especially bad. Forest fires and dairy emissions don’t help. As bad as Valley counties are, San Bernardino (No. 1) and Riverside (No. 2) are worse. Also on the awful list: Sacramento (13), Stanislaus (15) and Merced (22). BTW, San Bernardino’s air “score” was 4,731. But Merced’s was only 1,089 – so that’s something.

‘Keys’ to the Gallo disappear

Modesto Bee. There’s something different about the crosswalks leading to the Gallo Center.
Synopsis: The fanciful keyboard crosswalks initiated by the Downtown Modesto Partnership in 2017 are gone, having been painted over by the city. Now they look like the same crosswalks you find anywhere else. With so many cars crossing them each day, they soon became darkened from tire residue. The Center’s CEO, Chad Hilligus, supports the change. Others online are disappointed.
MAD Take: Perhaps the city just didn’t want to keep up this unique crosswalk, but to say it’s for safety reasons is as convenient as it is disingenuous. Just admit you didn’t want to pay for the paint. Or you’re not a music lover. Or you lack imagination.

Scary things in the Valley

Modesto Bee. Get into the spirit of Halloween at large festival in Modesto region.
Synopsis: The All Hallows Faire is coming to the Calaveras Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the Mariachi Los Camperos will be at the Gallo on Oct. 27. There’s more, including the “Four Seasons Mixtape” being offered by the Modesto Symphony Nov. 1-2 at the Gallo.

Merced Sun Star. Looking to get into Halloween spirit? Here’s what’s going on in Merced area.
Synopsis: The Corps for Critters car show is Saturday in downtown Merced, the Hunter Farms Pumpkin Patch is open through Oct. 31, the Mainzer will be screening Hocus Pocus and Halloween and the Creepy Crawl is Saturday night. There’s a $200 prize for the best adult costume at O’Ryleighs Tavern or the High Dive Bar.

Merced Golden Wire. Anderson Halloween House is open.
Synopsis: The “well-known Anderson’s Halloween House at the intersection of Parsons Avenue and Oregon Drive” is open for visitors. Other homes in the neighborhood are equally decorated. There are 31 photos on this Facebook page.

Turlock Journal. West Side Players prepare for ‘Young Frankenstein.’
Synopsis: The West Side Players are putting on the musical version of this beloved movie under the direction of Kari Parks Thompson. Most of the cast is new to the theater coming from Turlock, Patterson, Gustine, Santa Nella and Newman. Manny Bautista is Dr. Frankenstein with Farris Larsen as Frau Blucher.

Celebrating floodplain agreement

Maven / CA Natural Resources Agency. CA floodplains at heart of landmark agreement.
Synopsis: State and federal agencies overseeing water, ag, fish and flood control have entered into an MOU to create “landscape-scale, multi-beneficial floodplain water projects” on the Sacramento River.  Wade Crowfoot calls this a “win-win-win” commitment for California. Among those signing on was the Floodplain Forward Coalition, made up of 27 organizations including conservation groups, irrigation districts and universities.
MAD Take: Three years ago, Adam Gray was the only legislator in Sacramento talking about the benefits of investing in floodplain restoration – and helping groups like River Partners get the support needed to create over 100 projects in the San Joaquin Valley. Good to see others coming around to our thinking.

Floodgate protecting Stockton

CBS13. CA’s first floodgate aims to remove hundreds of Valley homes from flood zone.
Synopsis: The new floodgate is on Stockton’s Smith Canal. Homeowners are happy it is complete, but many don’t yet trust the giant mechanism to actually work. It cost $100 million, funded through state, local and federal dollars. The 50-foot barrier sits near Stockton Country Club and is supposed to keep the nearby housing dry. The hope is that it will also lower home insurance costs. This is the first part of a $1.4 billion Army Corps of Engineers project on the lower San Joaquin River that begins next year.

Sikh marchers reach Merced

Merced Focus. ‘Fearless for Justice March’ stops in Merced, in recognition of 1984 Sikh genocide.
Synopsis: Marchers are retracing Cesar Chavez’s steps along the 350 miles from Bakersfield to Sacramento, but for a different cause. The Jakara Movement is calling attention to the past and the status of the Indian province of Punjab. They walk about 6 hours each day.

Divisions on ambulance tax

Westside Connect. Letters on Measure A.
Synopsis: Three people wrote about Measure A, a tax to support the Westside Ambulance. Dave Maison urges a “no” vote to force fiscal responsibility on the staff. … A lengthy but unsigned letter points out that the ambulance is funded by a $40 assessment established, coincidentally, 40 years ago. It’s time to boost it to $69 a year.  He notes that while the county is required to cover the area if Westside doesn’t, it is not required to have an actual ambulance in the region, relying instead on mutual-aid agreements with Stanislaus County and Patterson. … Former Newman fire chief Mel Souza says he is in favor of the increase. Why? The Westside Ambulance saves lives – including his. … Steve Pometta supports the ambulance, but not Measure A because it includes a 3% escalator clause that could bump the $69 additional assessment to $80 within 5 years. … Local firefighter Bob Vargas says Measure A is not truly about public safety, but about keeping a mismanaged agency afloat.
MAD Note: The management of Westside Ambulance aside, it should be noted that it can take 20 minutes to get an ambulance in the city of Merced. Counting on the service to get to Gustine in less than 45 minutes would seem a gamble. Ask the folks in Los Banos.  

Would he accept results?

Cal Matters. Most CA Republicans in Congress won’t commit to certifying 2024 presidential election.
Synopsis: Of 12 California leaders either elected or in the running, only 7 (including Steve Garvey) say they will go through the formality of certifying the election if Kamala Harris wins. Included among those four are Young Kim and Tom McClintock (who both certified Biden’s election), Ken Calvert (who didn’t in 2020 but will this time he insists), Kevin Lincoln and John Duarte, maybe. The Hughson freshman told the Sacramento Bee he would certify but refused to answer the same question when asked by Cal Matters. For that matter, Kevin Kiley, Vince Fong and David Valadao also refused to say.

They came 6,000 to rob ATMs

Fresno Bee. Organized South American crew wanted for bank heists in Fresno and Valley.
Synopsis: Ten foreign visitors – eight from Chile, 1 each from Venezuela and Peru – figured out how to steal 15 different ATMs. After casing locations, they used prybars, blowtorches and brute force to get to the cash, usually by breaching the back wall. A single robbery scored $312,000 for a total of at least $1.6 million.

Bad news and good on CO2

KVPR. Carbon emissions from forest fires are surging globally, UC Merced professors find.
Synopsis: Rachel Livinal reports on work done by two professors at UCM in a study led by East Anglia in England. Over the past two decades, CO2 emissions from boreal wildfires have increased 60%. The loss of trees due to both fire and drought is reducing the planet’s ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
MAD Note: Story doesn’t mention it, but John Abatzoglu and Cyrstal Kolden were the UCM staff.

SF Chronicle. ‘Game-changer’: UC Berkeley chemists develop powder to suck CO2 from the air.
Synopsis: The “greatest warriors” against planet warming are trees, which absorb carbon-dioxide and exhale oxygen. “But there simply aren’t enough of them” to save the planet, say scientists. So, a team of scientists at Berkeley has developed a crystalline power that does the same thing, with 8 ounces absorbing as much CO2 as a tree. They announced their development in Nature on Wednesday. It’s called COF-999. Better yet, it can be purified and reused. Expect to see it in your home in 2 years.